By Our Correspondent
The Cross River State Government has commenced the official certification of 207 communities in Ogoja Local Government Area.
This is aimed at achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, a move that aligns with the national campaign to eradicate open defecation by 2030.
The weeklong certification exercise, which began on Monday, is spearheaded by the State Task Group on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (STG-WASH) and is part of the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme under the Neglected Tropical Diseases/WASH initiative.
The initiative is implemented by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWATSSA) with technical and financial backing from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Leading the certification team is Kanu Eni, Director of Water Supply and Quality Control in the State Ministry of Water Resources, following RUWATSSA’s completion of the initial 25 per cent verification process a prerequisite for state-level certification.
In a statement issued by the General Manager of RUWATSSA, Sunday Ebeku, he noted that the certification process runs from July 21 to 29, with scheduled field assessments across all 207 communities. A planning meeting was held at the Ogoja LGA Council headquarters to kick off the operation, which will end with a debriefing of stakeholders at the LGA level.
“The communities have demonstrated significant commitment to hygiene behaviour change and have met the national indicators for ODF status,” Ebeku noted. “We commend our partners and the local WASH teams for their tireless work in advancing sanitation and public health.”
The Ogoja WASH department, which had earlier conducted preliminary monitoring based on national protocols, confirmed that the target communities had fulfilled all the criteria for ODF status including access to and use of safe toilets, absence of visible faeces, and adoption of handwashing practices.
